Starbucks is deepening its bet on employee-generated content through a new collaboration with TikTok, becoming the first brand to pilot a custom Creator Network built inside TikTok’s Content Suite. The programme was announced this week at Cannes Lions during a joint session between the coffee chain and the social media platform, in news first reported by Marketing Dive.
What the Starbucks Green Apron Creators pilot includes
The Creator Network expands on Starbucks’ existing Green Apron Creators initiative, which launched in 2024 to encourage employees to post brand-related content on social media. Under the new pilot, Starbucks will be able to share content briefs directly with select employees and compensate them through ad revenue sharing. The programme is set to launch this summer, with any wider rollout shaped by lessons learned during the trial phase.
The move reflects a clear strategic logic. Starbucks employees already post on social media at three times the rate of workers at similarly sized chains, according to data cited in the company’s press materials. That high level of organic activity gives the brand a ready supply of authentic content it can amplify through paid advertising, rather than relying solely on traditional influencer partnerships or agency-produced creative.
Speaking in press materials, Erin Silvoy, Starbucks senior vice president of global marketing, framed the partnership as a way to celebrate staff storytelling. She noted that employees bring the brand to life every day by creating moments of connection with customers, and increasingly share those moments online in creative ways. Collaborating with TikTok, she said, gave Starbucks the chance to build a customised tool that amplifies that authentic content.
Why employee-generated content is gaining ground
Employee-generated content is fast becoming a mainstream marketing tool. Office supply retailer Staples has supported Kaeden Rowland, known online as the Staples Baddie, whose ASMR-style videos about her retail job have built an audience approaching 600,000 followers on TikTok. Examples like this show how individual staff members can become genuine engines of product discovery.
The data behind the trend is striking. Sprout Social research found that 61 percent of Gen Z, and 40 percent of the population overall, frequently learn about new products or services from employee-generated content. The same research suggests brands will need to think carefully about rewards, with 61 percent of consumers saying companies should compensate employees who promote them on social media. Starbucks’ revenue-sharing model appears designed to answer exactly that expectation.
How TikTok Creator Networks work for brands
For TikTok, Creator Networks represent a new way to package this behaviour for advertisers. The platform is positioning the format as a tool that lets brands assemble a customisable pool of employees, partners or brand advocates, then channel that user-generated content into paid campaigns.
The pilot arrives during a period of commercial strength for Starbucks. The company reported second-quarter revenue of 9.5 billion dollars, a 9 percent year-over-year increase, while its rewards programme reached 35.6 million members. Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol pointed to strong marketing as a key driver of that momentum.
As Gen Z continues to turn to authentic, employee-led content for product discovery, the Starbucks TikTok Creator Network offers an early look at how major brands are formalising and rewarding the content their own people already create.
